Grain legume production in Europe has recently come under scrutiny. Although legume crops are often promoted to provide environmental services, European farmers tend to turn to non-legume crops. It is assumed that high variability in legume yields explains this aversion, but so far this hypothesis has not been tested. Here, we estimate the variability of major grain legume and non-legume yields...

Inoculation of forage and grain legumes with rhizobia is an important process to maximize biological N2 fixation capacity in these crops. Inoculation has the potential of increasing dry matter yield, N yield, and residual N levels. However, yield responses to inoculation are not universal in the region. In fields that have previously grown the same grain legume crop (i.e. contain an endemic rhi...

A study on nutrient uptake by different legume crops was carried out at two locations–one at Bangladesh Agricultural University farm Mymensingh and another at Regional Agricultural Research Station of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Jamalpur. The objective was to find out the optimum concentrations of different nutrient elements and its uptake by legume crops in a Wheat-Legume-T. Am...

The potential of biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) to provide sufficient N for production has encouraged re-appraisal of cropping systems that deploy legumes. It has been argued that legume-derived N can maintain productivity as an alternative to the application of mineral fertilizer, although few studies have systematically evaluated the effect of optimizing the balance between legumes and no...

Food legumes play an important role in attaining both food and nutritional security along with sustainable agricultural production for the well-being of humans globally. The various traits of economic importance in legume crops are complex and quantitative in nature, which are governed by quantitative trait loci (QTLs). Mapping of quantitative traits is a tedious and costly process, however, a ...

17 Maize is the world’s most widely grown cereal on the basis of Mg produced (FAO, 2014). Nitrogen fertilizer applied to cropland is a considerable portion of the cost and energy input associated with nonlegume crop production (Liebman et al., 2012). When N is lost from cropland, it represents both a fi nancial loss to producers and has a potentially negative impact on the environment (Vetsch a...

Legume cultivation is strongly hampered by the occurrence of ascochyta blights. Strategies of control have been developed but only marginal successes achieved. Breeding for disease resistance is regarded the most cost efficient method of control. Significant genetic variation for disease resistance exists in most legume crops with numerous germplasm lines maintained, providing an excellent reso...

In tropical regions, soil acidity and low soil fertility are the most important yield-limiting factors for sustainable crop production. Using legume cover crops as mulch is an important strategy not only to protect the soil loss from erosion but also to ameliorate soil fertility. Information is limited regarding tolerances of tropical legume cover crops to acid soils. A greenhouse experiment wa...

Cover crops are important components of sustainable agricultural systems. They increase surface residue and aid in the reduction of soil erosion. They improve the structure and water-holding capacity of the soil and thus increase the effectiveness of applied N fertilizer. Legume cover crops such as hairy vetch and crimson clover fix nitrogen and contribute to the nitrogen requirements of subseq...

Legumes play a vital role in ensuring global nutritional food security and improving soil quality through nitrogen fixation. Accelerated higher genetic gains is required to meet the demand of ever increasing global population. In recent years, speedy developments have been witnessed in legume genomics due to advancements in next-generation sequencing (NGS) and high-throughput genotyping technol...